Empower your nonprofit team with a new CRM

We get it; change can be terrifying. But with this checklist from our team of nonprofit tech experts it doesn’t have to be.

Nonprofits have plenty on their plates to take care of.

Planning fundraising events, marketing work, managing supporters, launching campaigns, processing donation receipts, and working with board members. You have many hats to wear, right?

And as if that isn’t enough, the burden of the pandemic has been forcing mission-driven organizations to think creatively of new ways to engage and serve their constituents.

To say it can be time consuming, inefficient and downright messy without the right tools is a huge understatement.

7 questions for your nonprofit team to ask when choosing a CRM

Your nonprofit is unique. So, the best CRM should include the features, support and integrations that meet your specific needs. After all, the last thing you want to do is get stuck with software that doesn’t make sense for you.

So our team banded together to think through the questions we WISH nonprofits would ask consider as a team BEFORE scheduling a demo with a CRM provider.

1. What do we want to get out of a CRM implementation? To reach your maximum CRM potential, it’s best to have a CRM strategy. It should include setting challenging objectives that can have a lasting impact on your organization. For example, do you want to increase donor retention by 40% over the next two years? Surpass your 2021 fundraising goals by $100,000? Or configure reports so that you can build a case to apply for a large grant?
2. How much data do we have? The number of constituent profiles a nonprofit can collect varies. Be sure to analyze how much donor data you have before buying.
3. What do we need to track? Everything you track should be used to make your nonprofit more successful. To do that, think about the major data you need to capture to get a holistic view of your organization’s performance to boost your revenue.
4. Is our entire team onboard? A CRM will likely affect most of your employee’s jobs in some way. Talk to your team to get them onboard and see what they’re hoping to achieve from the new software. When you’re all on the same page, implementing the CRM and team training will run more smoothly.
5. Can our CRM “talk” to other systems? It’s smart to integrate your CRM tools with any existing applications that you’re using. By removing the back and forth between apps, you can better your productivity and workflow. Though many organizations find it beneficial to use third-party applications, many CRMs offer native automation tools that will centralize all of your data and save you money in the long run.
6. How fast can we get a CRM up and running? If you’re using an existing CRM, it depends on how much data you need to transfer to a new system, who needs access to your CRM, how big your team is, and how sophisticated you want your CRM automation to be. If you’re starting from scratch, setup can happen quickly. If you find it daunting or don’t have the time, consider the services of a CRM software partner like cloudStack Services.
7. Can we afford this? This is the first question or roadblock nonprofits face as budget is almost always a driving factor in any decision. When reviewing costs, think about both immediate and ongoing costs, like integrations, licensing and system maintenance, and training, to name a few. Then there’s the greatest cost benefit of all: reducing manual tasks so your highly-skilled team can focus on more complex, productive work.

Find the rest of this article here.

Wishing you had someone to hold your hand through this journey? Our team would love to connect, give us a shout!

Feeling shy? Instead find us on LinkedIn where we post regularly on nonprofit tech and provide suggestions on how best to succeed with your nonprofit CRM.